5 Essential Tips For All Newly Engaged Couples

Happy Friday!

It’s hard to believe, but this weekend will mark two full years since Ricky and I got engaged. I really can’t believe it’s been so long—but I also have a hard time believing we’ve really been married for three months already too. Time is so strange, and every day feels like a lifetime when you’re with the right person.

Although we had our small, COVID-approved wedding in October of last year, we’re still hoping to have our “real” wedding celebration later this year. Because of that, I’m still very much in wedding planning mode, even though I’ve taken some time off from planning to regroup.

All this thinking about weddings and engagements have got me thinking about what it was like for Ricky and I as a newly engaged couple. If I could go back and do it all again, I absolutely would; being a bride-to-be was so much fun, but there are definitely a few things I would do differently. This lead to the idea for today’s post—some essential tips for couples who have recently gotten engaged!

Getting engaged is really so exciting, and you want to get the most out of this time in your life. So, here are 5 things to keep in mind while getting ready to tie the knot!

1. Find a good wedding planner and use it like a bible

I had a binder, a notebook, and the app WeddingWire. Although I probably didn’t need to use all three resources to plan my wedding—especially when our big wedding got postponed anyways—but it was seriously such a lifesaver to have something to lay out all the details you need to plan a wedding. There’s so much that goes into it—some things I would have never considered before, so it was so helpful to have these on hand. The app was really helpful in particular for when I was out of the house and away from my binder and notebook, so I highly recommend finding a planning app to download! I loved WeddingWire, and I used Zola to order my Change The Dates and loved it as well. I tried The Knot and, honestly, wasn’t a huge fan, but I know lots of women who swear by it.

2. Be open to suggestions

Getting married is an exciting time, and everyone is going to want to give their two cents. I mean everyone. It can be super frustrating at times, but sometimes their advice will actually be helpful. Keep yourself open to suggestions while planning your wedding, but also know that it’s your day—not Great-Aunt Sue’s.

3. Prepare yourself for unforeseen changes

COVID Brides everywhere can still be heard quietly sobbing in the distance for this one. Obviously when you get married you want it to be just how you imagine it, every little detail a perfect fairytale wedding. But the reality is that things will always change, and the day will never go exactly as you imagined it. It doesn’t matter how good a planner you are—it’s just how things go. You can’t predict and plan for everything. Hopefully you won’t have a global pandemic shutting the world down impede on your wedding plans, but just know that if all of us COVID Brides could adapt, then so can you!

4. .Don’t sweat the small details—especially in the early stages

Like I said earlier, there’s so much that goes into planning a wedding. It can be so overwhelming, even with the planning resources. Try not to stress about it all at once, especially so early on. Everything will get taken care of, one at a time. And honestly, even if some small details don’t pan out the way you’d hoped, the reality is that people most likely will not notice, let alone remember. My wedding day is mostly a blur for everyone who was there. We remember the important parts—the getting ready, the ceremony’s “I Do’s” and the fun photos we took after, and the quiet meal we had as a close-knit group of friends and family after. There were so many small details I’d wanted to include—and that I’ll likely try to include when I get to do this all again—but really, what matters is who you’re with and the time you’re spending together. Don’t sweat the rest if you can help it!

5. Enjoy this time as much as you can!

This is the most important tip of all. Life as a married couple is different than life as an engaged couple in a lot of small ways, and I often find myself thinking back to that time just a few months ago where people would call me “bride” and “soon to be Mrs.” and things like that. Now I’m just Mrs., and while I love this title, I feel more matronly now than I did before. Getting married begins a whole new chapter that you should feel excited to start this journey with your significant other, but enjoy the time before where you’re still looked at as two kids in love! It all goes by so quickly; savor every minute of it for as long as you can. One day soon, you’ll be able to look back on these days as sweet memories to share with your partner. Take it all in!